A friend just pointed out that I have fallen down on my blogging responsibilities lately, so here are a few gaming reviews of the cooles new offerings.

The new ‘God of War’ is one of the best-looking games ever made — see for yourself

Sony was kind enough to provide us with a review copy of the game a few weeks before launch, but while we don’t want to spoil the game or any of its many surprises, we’d love to give you an idea of the kind of visual treat customers are in for.

Reviews claim new God of War is one of the PS4’s best ever games

Since the review embargo lifted overnight, critics have been praising the game’s stronger emphasis on character development and its new combat system … epitomised an embarrassing adolescent phase of games into something resembling actual maturity …

‘Halo’, ‘Pokemon’ and ‘Street Fighter’ added to the video game hall of fame

“Street Fighter” and “Donkey Kong” are among the five classic video games announced as new additions to the World Video Game Hall of Fame for 2017, in recognition of their historic and cultural significance.

Random Thoughts Today

I’m just sharing some random thoughts here cuz I saw this really bad car crash yesterday and it’s bringing back some bad memories. Copious amounts of vodka have not helped and so I thought maybe writing about it might.

Yesterday I was glued to the TV watching the NASCAR Coke Zero 400 in Daytona Beach when all of a sudden there was one hellacious crash.

I know how much fun we’re all having playing our favorite driving games.

My personal favorite is F1 2015 but I just thought “wow, video games can be so realistic, but damn, they are way safer!

Austin Dillon in horrifying crash; five fans injured

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 early Monday morning, but the finish of the race was marred by a horrifying crash that sent Austin Dillon’s car sailing into the catch fence at Daytona International Speedway.

Dillon walked away and waved to the crowd after his car got airborne and was torn apart by the fence. He was been checked and released from the infield care center with a bruised tailbone and forearm.

Track president Joie Chitwood III confirmed 13 fans were examined and eight declined treatment. Of the five treated, one was transported to a local hospital, treated and released.

The other four were treated at the infield care center.

“It’s not really acceptable, I don’t think,” Dillon told reporters after exiting the care center. “We’ve got to figure out something. Our speeds are too high, I think. I think everybody could get good racing with slower speeds. We can work at that, and then figure out a way to keep the cars on the ground. That’s the next thing. We’re fighting hard to make the racing good. I hope the fans appreciate that. We don’t, but it’s our job. You go out there and hold it wide open to the end and hope you make it through.”

After Sam Hornish Jr. had spun through the grass to bring out the race’s final caution, that set up a green-white-checker finish. A mass of cars were jockeying for position behind Earnhardt Jr., who had been the driver to beat all night, and several lines followed him across the finish.

Denny Hamlin appeared to get backed up into Kevin Harvick. That pushed Jeff Gordon back into Dillon, whose car lifted and flew over two or three lanes of traffic and up into the catchfence toward the entrance to Turn 1.

The fence was torn down in the section where Dillon hit. Dillon’s car was hit again by Brad Keselowski’s car as drivers scattered to try to avoid the multicar pileup.

Crew members from many teams ran out to check on Dillon and help extricate him from the car. They gave a thumbs up when they saw he was OK.

Dillon waved to the crowd after being helped from the car.

The engine block from his No. 3 Chevrolet was seen smoking — completely detached from the rest of the car.

“It was very vicious,” Dillon said of the crash. “It’s twisting you around in there, and the belts are loosening with each hit, so the hits are getting more and more violent. By the fourth hit, you’ve separated enough so that the fourth one is going to hurt more than others. I held on to the steering wheel as hard as I could. I’m sure I’m going to find more bumps and bruises during the week, but right now I feel all right.”

Drivers were shaken up afterward, immediately concerned for Dillon’s well-being and that of the fans sitting near the action. Their reactions to the incident — and whether it could have been prevented — were mixed.

Ryan Newman was furious.

“NASCAR got what they wanted. That’s the end of it,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “Cars getting airborne, unsafe drivers, same old stuff. They just don’t listen.”

When asked if he believed another crash like this would help spur more changes and safety improvements, especially at restrictor-plate tracks where speeds reach more than 200 mph and the chances of cars lifting is increased, Newman replied:

“No. They had an event in 2001 (when seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed). They’ve had several events since then. They just don’t pay attention to safety. Simple as that.”

“It was just crazy. It’s part of this racing,” Dillon said. “Everybody is pushing as hard as they can — pushing in a tight pack. I was pushing the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the people behind are pushing me, It was just a wad right there at the end. At these speedway races, you’re just praying and hoping that you get through it.”

Dylan Whitlock, a fan from Mississippi, captured the incident on video and spoke to USA TODAY Sports moments after the crash.

Whitlock said an eerie silence followed the crash as fans around him stood in shock.

“That’s the quietest I’ve ever heard somebody be when Junior won,” he said.
One man a couple rows behind Whitlock appeared to be hit in the head by debris, Whitlock said. But Whitlock said the man was being tended to and appeared to be awake and alert.

Just when Dillon thought the wreck was over, his car was hit again.

“I thought the wreck was over and I was sliding on the roof. I thought, ‘We made it. We made it.’ And then there was a big bang. I think it was the 2 car (Keselowski) that ran into me. Literally I had just got done stopping and crew members were everywhere. I thought that was really cool and special. It was comforting to me. They got to me pretty quick. I just wanted to get out of there and let the fans know I was OK.”

Aside from his minor injuries, Dillon said he had no headache or other pains from what his grandfather and team owner Richard Childress called a ”wild ride”.

“I’ll ice up and go get ready for Kentucky,” Dillon said. “It happened so quick. I was just hanging on and praying I would get through it and get to race again.

“This is what we do. We sign up for this every weekend.”

My car wreck. Broke my leg and 2 ribs.

Real Life Is Dangerous

So anyway, back to the crash. And the injured people in the stands. And you just know those injured fans are going to be talking to lawyers first thing Monday morning to see if they have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit against NASCAR.

In all likelihood, the do. And if they do, chances are that it’ll take probably 2 or 3 years before they actually see any money from their injuries. Depending on how badly they’re hurt, they may not be able to return to work, plus you just know they’re gonna have a ton of extra expenses like hospital bills, doctor visits, co-pays and all the rest.

I happen to have a little bit of personal experience with that sort of thing. Although I didn’t get hit by a wall of exploding, tumbling out of control race cars, I did get in a car accident about a year and a half ago and was out of action for almost 3 weeks and then I was in limited action for about 4 months after that as I went thru therapy and had to learn to walk with crutches because I had a cast on my leg.

To make a long story short, I ended up hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit in order to get the other guy’s insurance company to compensate me properly. During those months, I couldn’t work for a good portion of the time. I got all jammed up with my bills and just about got evicted from my apartment. This is the part of my life I like to refer to as “The Wakeup Call”. It’s when I learned that I wasn’t nearly as financially secure as I had convinced myself I was.

Fortunately a buddy of mine told me about a company he’d used before that offered pre settlement loans on pending lawsuit cases like mine. I’d never heard of anything like that before but I decided to check it out because my buddy had nothing but good things to say about them.

Turns out, they give loans to people with personal injury lawsuits, and the cool thing is that approval is based on the strength of the case. And unlike a bank, they didn’t care about my credit score, I didn’t need a house to pledge as collateral and I didn’t have to make any monthly payments while my case was going on. My case just settled a couple months ago and they waited to get paid back until I did. Overall it was a lifesaver for me.

Not quite sure why I mentioned it here. It’s just that every time I see or hear about a car accident these days, my mind immediately takes me back. I figured if my experience could help someone, all the better.

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Here is my list of where to find the very best gaming deals for your Black Friday shopping:

Best Video Game Deals For Black Friday 2016; Includes Mafia 3, BioShock, Deus Ex and More

Black Friday Sale is becoming a hot topic on the internet lately as this annual event officially kicks off bringing lots of deals for very low prices. As reported earlier, several online retailers has posted their ad in preparation for Black Friday

Rapid Air Technology and patented starfish design, hot air is circulated quickly throughout the product to make sure food is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Argos apologies after listing new MacBook for £100 in Black Friday …

Five video games to keep eye out for on Black Friday, Cyber Monday

The disgusting tradition of people losing their minds in the name of consumerism aside, here are five video games that you should keep an eye out for when seeking deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 5. Titanfall 2 — One of the big hits of 2016 …I4U NewsNintendo

Games Inbox: Is Black Friday bad for gaming?

It basically says that Black Friday is partly responsible for the low sales of recent games, because many gamers have avoided buying them when they came out and reasoned (correctly, it seems) that they’re going to end up in the sales. One of the …

Best deals for PS4 and XBox One on Black Friday – where to find the cheapest prices

Best deals and cheapest prices. How could you possibly say no to that?

Sony has recently launched the PS4 Pro, a 4K-compatible model with more processing power under the hood. It comes … Argos – Argos is one of the biggest retailers to take part in Black Friday with deals on TVs, games consoles, laptops, cameras and toys.

Black Friday toys deals 2016: Best offers on must-have toys at Smyths Toys, Littlewoods and more

If you’ve got a little one on your gift list this Christmas, it’s extremely likely you’ll be after a toy deal – and with Black Friday officially here, now is the perfect time to snap up some LEGO, Star Wars merchandise and Disney dolls for cheap. Black …

Forza Horizon 3

The sky is the limit when you’re playing this awesome new game.

Following the open-road thrills across the Franco-Italian countryside with its predecessor Forza Horizon 2, this baby packs up new features, terrains, race cars and a mind-boggling amount of events and challenges to cement its pole position as one of the most breathtaking games of all time.

It was released September 27, 2016.

Forza Horizon 2 became the standard, HIGH standard I suppose, for this game to follow upon. Back in the old days, its predecessor delivered up a superb slab of the Mediterranean coastline; a sumptuous, midsummer trek through the rolling fields of the Southern Europe that made us feel as if we are experiencing a Top Gear event. No words could describe it.

Now the successor, Forza Horizon 3, absolutely stomped it. The diverse choices of cars, all of which can be fully customized, may be the stars of the show here, but the stage was the thing that really stole the show for me.

We have all the reasons to be hyped up for this game. The attention to even the smallest detail, for example, is magnificent, and as for all hardcore gamers around the world, it’s certainly you all can guarantee to. From the road markings, the street signage, the slippery jungle slopes, sandy beaches across the rivers, and hell even the garbage bins across the road together with their multicolored lids would totally amaze you. It looks like it’s freaking real.

The lighting is very impressive, too, with the realistic sky bathing the whole environment together with an uncannily realistic sunlight dawning its crisper shadows. If you have played the game, you would also recognize that the latter are at their most superior state as you blast across the thick rainforest stages as the sun rays down through the towering trees.

Water is also something to look out for, not just because the entire place looks rainy all the time, but everything from the gently splashing waves by the Twelve Apostles to the wake that build up as your wheels crossed path with the shallow streams. It’s certainly on a top level.

Another thing to look out for is the game play itself. The words flexibility, flaccidity and malleability are on par with this one. There are more car customization options than its predecessor, and the best ones are sorted in a separate menu, so it’s crystal clear before purchasing which rides would feature the new wide body kits and blower options.

Forza Horizon 3 takes the element of choice and goes further with it. Want to stick to tarmac? It’s absolutely fine and there’s a plenty of city and open road racing to enjoy with. But the setting is now in Australia – which by the way is twice the size of the map of Forza Horizon 2 – and you also get desert plains, sandy beaches and dense rain forest, all with variable weather conditions to keep you on your toes.

There are 350 cars, and counting, to choose from and there are no rules on how to use them. Wreck it or love it, it’s absolutely up to you. You could be a man who doesn’t want a single dirt to be laid upon your car or be a kid who loves playing GTA V, just wrecking around the streets and smashes anything along its way.

Rapid vehicles and meaty mud trucks help you steer slippery jungle slopes, and you’ll definitely want something with a great grasp for gliding along sandy beaches or across rivers. Forza Horizon 3 also has plenty of brick roads and dirt paths, too, and there’s quite a bit of mixed terrain found during events. Having said, always choose the best car for every terrain.

The flexibility of the racing events in the game gives us a complete control over how Forza Horizon 3 unravels. Its predecessor allowed us to experience a new form of championships while completely ignoring the suggested car class, which meant we could progress towards the Finale without ever leaving our most favorite car behind.

Forza Horizon 3 shook the world with the mode that the events are being automatically adjusted in prior to what car you’ve brought from the starting point by allowing us to completely re-script the event from the terrain up ourselves, or even race a custom event created by friends or other Horizon players online.

We can absolutely say that Forza Horizon 3 is a masterpiece. It’s a bigger and better open-world racing game than its excellent predecessor, Forza Horizon 2. From the car selections and customization, the settings itself and of course, the size and diversity of the sprawling Australian outback is on a top notch.

On top of that, the game didn’t lose the sight of the fact that wrecking through perfect locations should be always fun, especially if we have the tools in our hand to make that happen. This is the racing game we’ve all been hoping for.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Eidos Montreal and Square Enix partner up once again to create another chapter in one of the most epic game franchises in existence today. If you enjoyed Human Revolution, the next logical thing is to try out Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Released on August 23, 2016, the game employs the same story-rich Sci-Fi, action world that has made its predecessors popular among the gaming community.

This time around, the setting is the year 2029 and augmented humans have been banished from society. They live like outcasts, totally secluded from the rest of the world.

You play as Adam Jensen, an ace covert operative who is also an augmented humanoid. Now he must work amidst people who hate his people. He uncovers what seems to be a global conspiracy, and now he must choose who to trust and choose the battles worth fighting. Fortunately, you have an arsenal of top-tier weapons and upgrades on your side.

So what can you expect from this latest addition to the franchise? For one, it has great graphics, as expected from any Deus Ex game. Like its predecessors, the game is story-driven, and there are many pinnacle moments in the game where you can choose which path you wish.

You can use force and plow through your enemies, shooting everything on sight. You can also be a sneaky spy and employ stealth to complete your objectives. There’s no definite way to do your missions. You can kill everything on sight, or sneak past everyone, leaving them alive. It is up to you.

There is much ado about the story of the series. The game has released a lot of complaints since its launch because of the story line. Granted, it is fairly difficult to think of story lines since they created so many Deus Ex games and hey, they might be running out of plots for the franchise. Seriously though, the story is solid, but nothing new.

It contains your usual underdog hero who hails from a discriminated sector of society story line, splashed with cyberpunk elements. The game contains some side quests, but they’re separate stories that don’t really add anything to the main story line or feel just as meh. Some side quests and mini-games even take away from the experience and ruin the immersion.

The game attempts to add a crafting system, maybe because they feel like crafting features worked so wonderfully with other games. While this may be true, but the crafting system in the game feels unfinished. You only need it around one or two times and the rest of the time it’s forgotten. You can choose to devote more of your time to learning the crafting system, but the materials you need to gather are so difficult that it would mean hours of grinding.

The game is also easier compared to older Deus Ex games. Even on the highest difficulty, the battles are not too difficult and you won’t even need a lot of healing items to get you through the game. This might have been done to minimize the grind and tediousness of the game, but with easy battles, it makes players focus more on the lacking story line.

To make the game easier, you can purchase items in the in-game store which can help you “cheat” certain areas in the game, such as the hacking mini-game.

Speaking of purchasing items, this is what most players are mad about: in-game micro-transactions. While micro-transactions are not a rare concept in games, it is odd to find one in a single player game that is already expensive to begin with.

Paying to go through a part of the game where one would get stuck, like the hacking mini-game, seems like a bad move to most people. Also, the game is not complete. The developers released it in chapters and the other chapters will come as DLCs, which you have to pay for as well.

This is where the problem starts. The current game is just one chapter of a complete story, and to most players it seems like the price is not justified.

Most reviewers of the game said that the game felt like it ended too soon, and together with the lackluster story line it made may players say, “Wait, is that all?” This is a sad truth that is present not only with Deus Ex, but with other franchises.

Once a franchise becomes famous, publishers look for ways to earn more money from it to take advantage of its popularity. Players loyal to the franchise worry that greed will kill the franchise soon enough.

Overall, Deus Ex is not a bad game; actually, it is a good game.

Remember though, being part of a successful franchise, much is expected from it, and apparently, it did poorly in some aspects. It’s still a good game if you compare it to other games outside the franchise, and honestly, I’m a sucker for nostalgia.

F1 2016

This is widely considered one of the best, if not THE BEST racing games so far released in 2016. F1 2016 totally rocks.

Every year, Codemasters tries to work around compromises between immersion and development. This year, the game developers of what is said to be the best Formula One game in years. The evolution of the game throughout the years are very minimal, but as soon as 2016 came, adjustments were made particularly on its real-world Formula one cars’ details. The game expertly captured the adrenaline of racing and the pleasure of executing a successful strategy.

Both thrilling and tense, Formula One 2016 captured not only our sights but our gamer hearts with its improved physics model that defines the relationship between your car and the track. Cold tires are now having lesser grip at the start of the race, and tiring wheels force you to be more mindful while accelerating around the corners.

For every Formula One player, we all know that grips is an old thing to the series, but Formula One 2016 made us feel more like we are realistically driving a Formula One Vehicle, with every worn tires across miles of straight and breaking zones.

The New Formation Lap, Codemaster’s newest addition, is certainly you would all love. Zigzagging across the tracks, warming up the tires and brakes for the race, is really an awesome way to add in the realistically race day atmosphere.

As you pull up to the line and wait for the rest of the grid to form behind you, your heart is pounding dramatically. For that moment, you’ll feel like this one of a lifetime opportunity. It’s a picture perfect scene with no rewinds and second chances. It’s a work of art. Too bad there’s a fade – to – black between the end of your warm-up lap and the start of the race, but it wouldn’t lessen the fun by that much.

One of the best thing in the game is the AI. The drivers can be extremely intelligent and for sure you’ll have a plenty of disappointments and a multiple side-by-side actions for a dozen of hours during your playing time.

Sometimes, they are quite stubborn. On certain tracks and weather conditions, one of which is the Melbourne when it’s rainy, they’re absolutely boring to drive against, as if they are slowing down to a crawl if they find themselves half an inch off their pre-programmed racing line. But all in all, they are really good. Especially the AI’s in Barcelona, which is to look out for as well in Hungary and Russia.

The newest highlights in terms of the tracks is the brand-new street circuit through the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, an extremely ruthless, high speed monster equipped with blind 90 degree corners and an unexpected narrow uphill chicane that will keep even the toughest Formula One players up at night.

Even the firm circuits that have been in the series from the start have brought on a new spin thanks to the newest mode to fine-tune the time-of the day-settings added by the Codemasters. Have you ever imagined what would Singapore Formula One racing event would look life if it was held as a day race? The Formula One 2016 will surely bring it to life for you.

Yet, there are still some mishaps particularly to the blandness to the overall color palette when it comes to the extreme details of the environment but the velocity at which everything whips by means will usually struggle to absorb much of the surroundings anyway. Elsewhere, the overall game presentation remains as good as always, though there are few cheeky shortcuts.

Formula One series never lose the touch of being competent, planted and responsive as ever. This games are for hardcore gamers out there who just want to go all out the tracks and an incredibly demanding one for those gamers who with the minerals to tackle Monaco in a rainy setting without any, of course, electronic helpers. If you’re not into wet weather handling, this game isn’t for you since the weather is more evil here that its predecessors. On top of that, there’s no split-screen display, but a 22-multiplayer is featured for the first time in Formula One games who wants to compete in an online racing game.

Anyone who hasn’t picked up a Formula One games for years should certainly bought the Formula One 2016. This game is definitely the best Formula One game Codemasters has ever created. As demanding as you want it to be, this stuff is packed with a deep and nuanced fan service and surely worth the upgrade for the previous years’ insufficiency. Despite the few rough edges, this game is absolutely terrific.

World of Warcraft Legion

Man’s quest for entertainment is ever-evolving. Before, we were content with playing relatively simple games, such as rock-paper-scissors and hide-and-seek, and then would move on to more competitive sports as we grow up.

They still entertain us, but the gaming needs are becoming more complex from generation to generation. We tend to look for something that would transcend human boundaries and make our imaginations a reality.

This is how developers, or “gods” for video game fanatics, came about. They made the impossible possible through various titles we play in our consoles and computers. In this reality, we get to become fearless knights who plunge into battle with haste or intellectual mages who conjure spells with a simple command.

We get hooked into things that are beyond our human capacities, and with these we are able to achieve them. Aside from the game play, story lines also entice us and move us into being immersed in the environment for hours. Yet as advanced as the games are now, we still ask for newer, more cutting-edge games. Such is our nature. Blizzard Entertainment, an American video game developer and publisher, understood this need, and so the World of Warcraft began.

For those who haven’t played this, you must be asking, “what is this World of Warcraft?” Let’s take a quick look at the history of the game. Commonly abbreviated as WoW, it is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that captured the imagination of millions.

It was first released in November 1994 dubbed as “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans”, a PC/ Mac game revolving around a fallen titan named Sargeras who wished to raze life from the land of Azeroth. In order to do this, he possessed the human sorcerer Medivh so he may make contact with the orc warlock Gul’dan and forge an army of orcs known as the Horde.

They then created a Dark Portal through which they will pass into the human nation of Stormwind, where the classic clash between good and evil ensued.

Some of you may already be pondering how this is different from other games and stories, especially that the plot kind of resembles that of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Allow me to say otherwise. The game didn’t end with the clash, but instead grew through the years.

Story-wise, it didn’t settle with just two sides opposing, where one was the oppressor and the other the oppressed. Twists and turns created an unexpected joint force between the Alliance and the Horde to ward off impending doom that threatened both sides. Gameplay-wise, almost every expansion added a new intricate detail, such as races, classes, environment and new quests. This added more vibrancy and flexibility to the game that other RPGs lack.

Whether the player decides to be a night elf, a troll or an undead is up to him. The variety of choices in the role they play, such as death knight, monk or hunter, further makes a colorful atmosphere the players can manipulate to their liking. Unlike other RPGs that have a linear story, MMORPGs create infinite possibilities where the player experiences different stories based on their actions. Instead of playing alone, players can choose to team up with one another and share points for fulfilling quests. WoW is no exception to this.

The developers of the game know all too well how quickly the audience’ needs and preferences change, thus they always bring something new. The only way to keep the gamers interested is to carefully innovate every now and then.

And yes, they have done it again this year. On August of 2016, the newest expansion, World of Warcraft: Legion, has been released, inviting more players to buy the game. In addition to previous features mentioned, the expansion introduces a new continent named The Broken Isles, which is central to the plot of the story.

Furthermore, a new class has been added, the Demon Hunter, only accessible to night elves and blood elves. Demon hunters use demonic fell magic to combat enemies and specialize in tank and damage dealer roles. The expansion also launches the use of artifacts, which are customizable weapons that grow as the player character does. The level cap is also raised to 110, giving more challenges to seasoned players. And if that’s not enough to make you grab a copy of the game, the new expansion adds a character boost, where one character is immediately raised to level 100. These are just a few highlights Legion has to offer.

But are those reasons enough to make you want to get it? I would say it really depends on what sort of gamer you are. If you are the type of person who likes role-playing games and simply wants to finish the story, then this might not be for you. Legion’s multiplayer nature and it’s potential for upcoming expansions in the future might catch you off-guard, making you lose interest and drop the game altogether.

The story can go in a variety of ways, which is why it can be appealing to some yet pointless to another group. With the multitude of functionalities, guilds, classes and races, players who want a simple game might find Legion a tad confusing. But if you are someone who enjoys an ever-changing environment and unpredictable storyline, then this is definitely for you.

The many possibilities are exactly what got WoW it’s fan base, and is growing continuously, thus the game tries to be true to that identity. Give it time and once you get the hang of it, you’ll be so immersed in the world of Warcraft.

As time changes, so does the preferences of people, both in gaming and in real life. MMORPGs, most especially the World of Warcraft, try hard to cope with that. As discussed, it’s all a matter of taste altogether.

As an endnote, perhaps some individuals would say that WoW gives off the notion of violence, but allow me to borrow a line in the amazing cinematic trailer – “Peace is the noblest aspiration, but to preserve it, you must be willing to fight.”

N++

Life nowadays proves to be too complicated to be enjoyed for some. School work doesn’t get any easier.

Relationships tend to be difficult due to daily drama. To eat like a king, most of the time you need to earn like a royalty.

Unfortunately, promotion is bleak due to a saturated competition. With all the stresses in life, sometimes you just want to sit back and relax. You’d like to travel somewhere, yet it’s too expensive. And so you decide to simply stay at home and play games on your computer, but then the ironic thing is some of them are too complex! It’s getting hard to take things easy right?

Luckily, one game aims to be simple when everything else isn’t, and that’s N++. N++ is a 2D platform game, similar to the famous Super Mario, released in July 2015 for PS4 and recently introduced to Steam, specifically for Microsoft Windows, last August of this year.

In this game, the player controls a ninja-like character, navigating through thousands of mind-boggling levels while avoiding obstacles that may kill him. It’s a simple run-and-dash platformer where you just have to collect coins, stay alive and move on to the next puzzle. The goal is pretty straightforward, and that’s what makes it so relaxing. But what makes this game stand out?

No grinding. Unlike most games out in the market, you play the game as it is. You don’t have to spend several hours making the character stronger or faster because it is the way it is. Your character already has all the skills needed in the game, which is simply running and jumping. Period.

You won’t get lost. In an era where everything is made more aesthetic and life-like by computer-generated imagery (CGI), N++ differs and aims to be “ugly” and upfront with the environment. The common scenario we see with new age gaming are scenic, picturesque settings that take your breath away, then you forget where you should be going next, or the area is too complicated. You won’t be needing a map to make your way through the N++ puzzle because the area IS the map, and that to me is pretty in every way.

No game over. The trouble gamers see sometimes is the inability to save their game before a big boss fight, or made an accidental boo-boo in the game. For N++, you simply restart the level and try again if you make a slipup, and you have unlimited chances to do so. There is no number of lives to worry about, so you can just go your merry way and solve the puzzle at your own pace.

You can drop the game and play it again on a later time without forgetting how to do anything. With the very simple controls and simple goal, you won’t run into the hassle of trying to remember how you play the game. This is a common problem for gamers who pick up a new game in the middle of a current one, and when they go back to the former they lose interest because they forgot the gameplay. Playing should be simple and stress-free, and that’s what N++ is about.

You can make your own world. You heard it right. You can make your own levels and share it online for other players to try and beat. Whether you make a new level to challenge yourself or others is entirely up to you. If you are creative and just want to send a cute message through the level you are making, be my guest! The only limit is your imagination.

There is a leaderboard. The good thing I see about the leaderboard for N++ is it’s not really about competing, but just taking your time to get to a level where most of the players are. You can either push yourself to get there or simply see how others are doing.

So, should you get this game? I personally would suggest that you do. When life tends to be complicated, you need to find something simple yet entertaining, and I see N++ as a pleasant breath of fresh air. When you get frustrated with a boss fight you just can’t beat, it’s time to blow off some steam and play this game. I can imagine you feeling calm after a few tries. It is very plain yet exhilarating at the same time.

Perhaps the only problem I see is it can trigger epileptic seizures for those who have related history due to the sudden changes in color and light schemes, but other than that, it should be what it is. Simply fun!

Fractured Space

Ask any gamer and they will tell you that the MOBA scene is getting crowded these days. With so many DOTA clones being released every month, it’s easy to forget all these titles before moving on to the next forgettable MOBA.

Edge Case Games Ltd. wanted to bring something new to the genre in the form of Fractured Space, a free-to-play MOBA set in the outer reaches of space. While it’s easy to dismiss this as DOTA, but in space, the game offers a different world of experience for players, and even veteran players might find themselves grasping at straws at the first few matches. Oh, and did we mention it is free-to-play?

The tactical space MOBA offers a lot of gaming experiences for different types of players. Not a big fan of PvP? There’s a solo player PvE aspect to it that’s more suited for casual gamers. If you want to play with friends, they have co-op modes and you can party together for PvP matches. Then there’s the good, old 5 versus 5 PvP that’s a hit with all MOBAs out there. The developers used the Unreal Engine 4 for the game to bring out the best visuals, which is important for any space game.

With space as your background for epic battles, you have to man your warship of choice to victory. Of course, warships come in different forms, and have their own sets of strengths, skills and weaknesses. The ultimate goal during each match is to destroy the opponent’s base. Each battle you fight gives you experience for yourself in general, and in the warship you used. Your mastery in a certain warship climbs up the more battles you fight with it.

The game requires a lot of strategy and quick thinking. As you have no control over your team and your opponent’s skills, you have to adapt your strategies and change them to fit each game. You have to master your warship’s skills and know which skill to use at what time. Teamwork is also valuable, especially if you are queued with complete strangers who you’ve never worked with before. In this game, you can get queued up with random strangers for a nice casual game. There are also tournaments for the skilled players who want to secure their place in the rankings.

Fratured Space underwent its Alpha stage back in April 2015, but was only fully released in September 22, 2016. As the game underwent a few changes from its early pre-launch stages to its full release, a lot of old players have given it a lot of negative reviews. You see, back in those days, everything was easy.

Building your crew members was easy. Gaining experience in battle was easy. Attaining new and better warships was easy. This of course, is because the developers wanted more people to try the game during the alpha stage. The purpose of this stage was for bug testing, so they made the game intentionally easier.

Now that they’ve released the game, the publishers made everything more difficult. You needed more experience to level up, and certain loot is now rarer than before. For people who’ve been used to the easy life, the game has now become “grindy”, which is something that exists in all games. The grind is part of the person’s road to getting stronger and improving their skills. However, if you’ve been here since the beginning, it’s like seeing an entirely different game.

The game is far from perfect. The graphics are great, delivering the complexities and visual beauty of space battle in great fruition. The sound comes up short sometimes, with super huge explosions not really getting the dramatic effect they deserve, and just sound underwhelming. The graphics come with a price though, the frames per second on not-so-powerful machines might not be so great. A lot of players complained of frame lag, especially as new patches start rolling out. The developers are still working to make the settings more optimized to fit even older computers.

During the past few weeks, the developers also tweaked some of the game features that the community has been complaining about. If nothing else, at least Edge Case Games Ltd. listens to its players.

It’s still far from perfect, but remember it’s a new release (alpha stages not included) and it seems like the developers are at least active in rolling out new content regularly. While it’s too early to give a definitive look at this game right now, we hope it will shape up to be another frontier in the MOBA scene.

I've been a gamer for as long as I can remember. In fact, I can even remember the first video we got for Christmas when I was a kid. It was the old Atari game "Pong". Okay, so I'm dating myself a bit here but whatever!